The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in the U.S. Department of Education
(ED) is responsible for enforcing five federal civil rights laws that prohibit
discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability
and age by recipients of federal financial assistance. These laws are:

Title
VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (prohibiting discrimination based on
race, color and national origin);

Title
IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (prohibiting sex discrimination in
education programs);

The
Age Discrimination Act of 1975 (prohibiting age discrimination); and

Title
II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (prohibiting disability
discrimination by public entities, e.g., public elementary and secondary
school systems, postsecondary schools, and vocational education programs,
whether or not they receive federal financial assistance).

In addition, as of January 8, 2002, OCR enforces the
Boy Scouts of America Equal Access Act. Under the Act, no public
elementary school, public secondary school, or state or local education agency
that provides an opportunity for one or more outside youth or community groups
to meet on school premises or in school facilities before or after school hours
shall deny equal access or a fair opportunity to meet, or discriminate against,
any group officially affiliated with the Boy Scouts of America or any other
youth group listed in Title 36 of the United States Code as a patriotic
society.

These civil rights laws represent a national commitment
to end discrimination in education programs. Since most educational
institutions receive some type of federal financial assistance, these laws
apply throughout the nation.

5,076
institutions conferring certificates below the associate degree level,
such as training schools for truck drivers and cosmetologists;[3]
and

thousands
of other entities, such as libraries, museums, and vocational
rehabilitation agencies.

Consequently, these civil rights laws protect millions
of students attending, or applying to attend, our educational institutions. In
certain situations, the laws also protect persons who are employed or seeking
employment at educational institutions. Overall, these laws protect:

nearly
53.6 million students attending elementary and secondary schools; and

Organizational Structure

OCR is composed of a headquarters office, located in
Washington, D.C., which provides overall leadership, policy development and
coordination of enforcement activities, and 12 enforcement offices around the
nation. The majority of OCR's staff are located in the enforcement
offices, which are in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C.,
Atlanta, Dallas, Cleveland, Chicago, Kansas City, Denver, San Francisco, and
Seattle. These enforcement offices are organized into 4 divisions
(Eastern, Southern, Midwestern and Western) that work to prevent, identify and
remedy discrimination against our nation’s students.

One important way OCR carries out its responsibilities
is by resolving complaints. Persons who believe there has been a
violation of the civil rights laws enforced by OCR may file complaints with the
appropriate enforcement office. The
process provides a forum for resolution of complaints of discrimination against
individuals protected by the civil rights laws.

OCR's primary objective is to resolve the complainant's
allegations of discrimination promptly, fairly and appropriately. In FY
2001, OCR received 4,571 complaints (a decrease of 6.6 percent from FY 2000
receipts) and resolved 4,777, some of which had been filed in previous
years. In FY 2002, OCR received 5,019 complaints (an increase of 9.8
percent over FY 2001) and resolved 4,842, including carry-over
complaints. Figure 2 shows the percentage of complaint receipts by
jurisdiction.

OCR uses a variety of techniques to resolve complaints,
ranging from facilitating voluntary resolutions between parties to negotiating
agreements with recipients for voluntary compliance. If these methods
fail, OCR issues violation letters and enters into negotiations to correct
those violations. It is only after OCR has advised recipients of their
failure to comply with the civil rights laws and has determined that compliance
cannot be secured by voluntary means that, as a last resort, OCR seeks
compliance through the administrative hearing process or refers cases to the
U.S. Department of Justice. This flexible approach allows OCR to:

provide timely and effective intervention at the beginning of the complaint
process;

focus on achieving positive change; and

make students, parents and school officials central to the resolution of
complaints.

In addition to resolving complaints, OCR initiates
compliance reviews and takes other proactive steps to focus on specific
compliance problems that are particularly acute or national in scope. Targeted compliance reviews and proactive
initiatives maximize the impact of OCR's resources and complement the complaint
resolution process. Experience indicates that these strategic activities
benefit large numbers of students through policy or program changes by
recipients that are designed to ensure compliance with the civil rights laws.

OCR initiated 21 compliance reviews in FY 2001 and brought 43 reviews to successful
resolution, some of which had been started in previous years. In FY 2002,
OCR initiated 11 compliance reviews and resolved 18. Compliance review
sites are selected based on various sources of information, including survey
data and information provided by parents, education groups, media, community
organizations and the public. In FYs 2001 and 2002, OCR conducted
compliance reviews on the following issues:

ensuring that English language learners are afforded access to alternative
language services in order to benefit from a school district's educational
program;

ensuring that students are not subject to a sexually hostile environment;

ensuring that students with disabilities receive a free appropriate public
education; and

OCR conducted 2,234 monitoring activities in FY 2001 and 2,343 in FY 2002.
The following examples show OCR's impact on both individual students and groups
of students when schools and colleges carried out their resolution agreement
commitments.

Half of the African American students who were enrolled
in one high school transferred out after such incidents as racially motivated
physical assaults and taunting. Latino, Hmong and white students who
supported the rights of minority students also were victims of attacks.
After the district implemented the OCR-negotiated resolution agreement, the
racial climate improved dramatically. The district made changes in responding
to racial incidents and provided full-time staff to address student and community
relations. The African American enrollment is now back at the level
it was before the complaint was filed with OCR.

A student with disabilities was segregated in a trailer
with an aide and received no instruction from a teacher during the school
day. As required by the district's agreement with OCR, the student was
re-evaluated, placed in a classroom with a qualified teacher and provided
compensatory education services.

The largest school district in a state had less than
10 trained teachers to provide services to about 3,000 English language learners.
To comply with a resolution agreement it had entered into with OCR, the district
hired and trained more than 150 teachers for its English as a Second Language
program.

A school district has reduced the mislabeling of minority
students in special education classes as a result of more consistent use of
intervention strategies to help students remain in the regular classroom.
The district's agreement with OCR resulted in all elementary schools adopting
a reading program, a pre-kindergarten program to address deficiencies in language
development, cognitive and psychomotor skills, and a program to help parents
prepare children under age three for school success. Children who completed
the program were less likely to be referred for special education evaluation.

Teachers are no longer assigned by a school district
on the basis of the racial composition of schools. A combination of
hiring, attrition and transfer decisions resulted in no school being racially
identifiable by the composition of its teaching staff.

Mobility-impaired students now have access to educational
programs and services at a major university. The university relocated
certain academic programs, constructed new buildings and ramps, renovated
bathrooms, installed elevators and lifts, lowered or replaced water fountains,
provided parking spaces and posted appropriate signage.

OCR’s monitoring of a district's alternative language
program found former English language learners performing better than students
whose primary home language is English on standardized achievement tests.
Students who were previously enrolled in the district's alternative language
program ranked 1, 2, and 5 in their 2001 high school graduating classes.

A university that had not provided
equal athletic opportunities to female students took a number of steps aimed
at removing barriers to participation in intercollegiate athletics. In carrying
out its resolution agreement with OCR, the university hired several highly
experienced individuals to coach women's teams and upgraded several women's
coaching positions to full-time status. The rosters of several women's
teams were expanded, and the women's ice hockey club team was elevated to
varsity status. In its inaugural season, the team won its conference
championship and qualified for the "Frozen Four" national championship.
These actions brought about a 30 percent increase in women's athletic participation
without eliminating any men's intercollegiate athletic teams.

A student with Down syndrome was excluded from the school
band because of communication problems regarding band activities. With
notice now given to his parents about scheduled activities, the student has
become an active school band member.

A student with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
was excluded from the National Junior Honor Society because of his disability.
The district later inducted the student, and he is now an active member of
the honor society.

Putting an end to discrimination includes preventing it
before it starts. To do this, OCR provides information and other support
services—known as technical assistance—to schools and colleges, as well as to
community, student and parent groups. Assistance to educational
institutions helps them comply with federal civil rights requirements, while
assistance to parents, students and others informs them of their rights under
law. OCR provides technical assistance through a variety of methods,
including onsite consultations, conferences, training, community meetings and
publishing and disseminating materials.

OCR coordinated and/or participated in a number of
conferences during FYs 2001 and 2002. For example, OCR staff conducted
a series of technical assistance presentations for classes of student teachers
attending Delaware State University to increase their awareness and
understanding of federal education civil rights laws. Another example was a workshop entitled "No Limited English
Proficient (LEP) Students Left Behind," sponsored by the Oklahoma State
Department of Education for superintendents, administrators, and elementary and
secondary teachers responsible for the provision of services to LEP
students. OCR staff made presentations to approximately 300 school
personnel from school districts across the state on local education agencies'
legal obligation to provide services for LEP students. Along with the
Louisiana State Education Department, the Louisiana Office of the Attorney
General and the Mississippi State Education Department, OCR co-sponsored a
"Safe and Healthy Schools Conference" in Baton Rouge for
approximately 350 school personnel and administrators focusing on racial
harassment and hate crime.

OCR also provides technical assistance to state
departments of education and local school districts on reducing referrals to
special education by implementing research-based reading programs. For
example, in the spring of 2002, OCR sponsored a regional conference of the
state directors of special education for eight states to discuss approaches to
reduce the mislabeling of minority students referred for special education
evaluation. OCR helped a state school
board association develop a model policy for all districts in the state that
addresses harassment based on race, national origin, sex, and disability. OCR is sharing the model at the request of
states across the country.

In addition to these kinds of proactive initiatives,
OCR responds to inquiries and requests from the public. Calls and letters
requesting assistance come from other federal agencies, state agencies, local
school districts, community groups, parents and students.